The next morning, after more than an hour of studying, Leon took Muen to the temple's backyard for a break.
The father and daughter sat on a bench under the shade of a tree, discussing what they had just learned.
Not far away, several dragon maids were chatting, each holding a piece of cake.
The birthday cake Leon had prepared for Rossweise was so excessively large that even if the two of them, plus Muen, ate it every day, they wouldn't finish it by next week.
So that morning, Rossweise had Anna cut the cake into small pieces and distribute them to the maids.
Even then, a lot of cake remained.
Rossweise said, "Leon, this is wasteful."
Leon retorted, "Mother Dragon, this is what you call 'biting the hand that feeds you.' This is 'burning bridges.' This is 'ungrateful.'"
Rossweise had no idea where he dug up so many idioms and didn't bother arguing with him.
Besides, she had enjoyed her birthday yesterday. Even though it wasn't one of the formal decade-mark birthdays, it still felt special.
So she decided to let Leon have his way for a couple of days, just to avoid being labeled "ungrateful."
Muen fluttered her big, pretty eyes, staring at the delicious cakes in the maids' hands, swallowing hard.
In the little dragon girl's mind, cake was the second most delicious food in the world—the first being pan-fried steak (made by Mom).
But she had already eaten a piece that morning. Dad said not to have too much cream for breakfast and to wait until lunch or the afternoon for more.
Yet the temptation of the small cakes was too strong. Rarely using her brain in such a way, Muen began to think unusually hard.
After a moment, she looked at Leon. "Daddy."
"What is it?"
"Do you have any regrets?"
Leon was bewildered. Why would his dear daughter suddenly ask such a profound question?
Usually, she would ask things like:
"Daddy, can we have steak for breakfast?"
"Daddy, can we have steak for lunch?"
"Daddy, can we have steak for dinner?"
Still, Leon thought seriously for a moment. Regrets? Yes, he had many.
But his regrets weren't exactly child-friendly. So, he shook his head. "Daddy has no regrets since having you and your sister."
Hearing this, the little dragon girl didn't look happy. Instead, she sighed with pretend regret. "Ah, but Muen has regrets."
My dear, you're just over a year old. What regrets could you possibly have? Regretting that your stomach is too small to eat a whole platter of steak?
"What regrets does Muen have?" Leon asked.
Muen didn't answer directly. Instead, she asked, "Daddy, do you think if a dragon has regrets, she can't be happy anymore?"
Leon's mind stirred. He sensed his clever daughter was up to something. After a moment's thought, he cautiously nodded. "Yes."
"So Daddy wants Muen to be happy all the time, right?"
"Um… of course."
"Then that means Daddy will help Muen solve her regrets, right?"
"…Yes."
After getting her old father's confirmation, Muen's serious little face suddenly broke into a bright smile.
"Then, Daddy, Muen's regret is that she only ate one piece of cake this morning. Muen wants to eat more!"
Leon was nearly caught off guard by this sudden twist.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, Muen C. Melkvey!
When did you change from an innocent little dragon girl into a sly one who sets traps for your old man?
Could it be that the other half of Rossweise's genes in her was acting up? Giving her a shocking talent for outsmarting Leon?
Hmm, it must be.
So everything is Rossweise's fault.
Scheming Mother Dragon, give me back my daughter!
Pulling himself together, Leon reached out and pinched Muen's cheek.
"First, if you want something from Daddy in the future, just say it directly. No need to beat around the bush like this."
Muen nodded earnestly. "Daddy, I want cake."
"Second, you can't eat too much cake."
Muen — 😥
"Really, Daddy? I can't?"
Leon: "You can't."
Muen — 😢
"Really, really can't?"
Leon's eye twitched slightly. "No, you really can't…"
Muen — 😭
"Daddy~~ Daddy~~~"
Leon covered his face with both hands, utterly defeated.
Three "Daddies" turned the greatest dragon slayer into a slave to his daughter.
Fine, he'd buy her fifty steaks just to hear her call him that.
After giving in, Leon raised a finger. "One piece. You can have one more piece at most."
"Yay! Daddy is awesome! Long live Daddy!"
The little dragon girl excitedly leaned over and gave Leon a big kiss on the cheek. A warm feeling flooded his heart. Maybe being a daughter's slave isn't so bad after all.
But in his joy, Leon seemed to realize something.
Have you two sisters discovered a little trick that makes Daddy here obey your every command?
The other day, Noah asked him to teach her lightning magic. He agreed, and she gave him a kiss. Now Muen wanted more cake. He agreed, and she kissed him too.
This was an unfair deal!
Who ever heard of trading one kiss for learning magic?
Who ever heard of trading one kiss for more cake?
Don't you two know that Daddy here is a man of fairness and justice, impartial and selfless?
So, if there's a next time…
You'll have to give me a few more kisses.
"Little greedy dragon, wait here. Daddy will go get it for you."
"Yay~"
But before Leon could stand up, the head maid Anna came over with two pieces of cake.
"Your Highness, Princess Muen, please enjoy."
"Thank you, Anna~"
"You're welcome, Your Highness," Anna replied with a smile.
Leon also took a piece of cake, which had a small slice of orange on top.
He didn't start eating right away but looked up and asked, "How much is left?"
"There's still quite a bit, Your Highness. The birthday cake you prepared for Her Majesty was… quite grand," Anna shrugged.
"Birthdays should be grand, right?" Leon shrugged back.
Anna nodded. "Yes. Oh, by the way, Your Highness, I saw the lightning over the back mountain last night. That was your doing for Her Majesty, wasn't it?"
"Um…"
He didn't really want to talk about it, because it would give Anna and the other gossiping dragons more to chatter about.
You can joke about food, but you can't joke about 'ships' (relationships).
Actually, I'm not that close to your queen…
"Was it a magic array activating magical energy to create that effect?" Anna asked.
Leon nodded silently.
Coincidentally, after explaining the mechanics and principles of magic arrays to Muen the other day, Noah had mentioned that her mother liked fleeting beauty. So Leon had a clever idea to combine the two, creating last night's lightning blessing.
"Truly worthy of you, Your Highness. Many of us saw it last night and praised you for being romantic and thoughtful, for winning Her Majesty's heart."
Hmm, with just a casual move, I'm a top-tier romantic. You dragons should learn a thing or two… Leon secretly gloated.
"I'm already looking forward to Her Majesty's next birthday, Your Highness. What kind of surprise will you prepare?" Anna said expectantly.
Leon grinned slyly and chuckled a couple of times.
Next time?
There won't be a next time!
In "The Captive's Suffering," there can be a "Dragon Birthday Celebration," but there definitely won't be a second one!